November 4, 2007; Leesburg, VA, USA: The BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series wrapped-up it�s weekend double header in the beautiful southern town of Leesburg, Virginia with another strong entry that showed quality as well as quantity. Earlier in the day, during the first of the amateur classes, organizers received word that Trek-VW superstars Jeremiah Bishop and Sue Haywood had phoned and said they were coming to the race. What they didn�t realize was that another �cross superstar, Jonne Sundt (Kelly Benefit Strategies/Medifast) had decided that it was time to start his 2007 cyclocross program following a few recovery weeks from a long road season and was also headed to the course.

In all, well over 200 racers swarmed the hilly Ida Lee Park on a comfortable autumn day despite the fact that the race was the second half of a BikeReg.com MABRAcross weekend doubleheader, and was over two hours away from the previous day�s �Wayne Scott Memorial�. An indication of the continued growth of the �fastest-growing cycling series in America� is that half of all entries were in the novice classes, with the men�s Category 4 race accounting for 91 entries alone.

ELITE WOMEN: STOMP, THINK AND THE DRAMA QUEEN
The featured Elite Classes started with the Women�s race. Lining up beside Sue Haywood were some of the East Coast�s fastest women, including three-time Verge MAC champion Betsy Shogren (Fort Factory Team), defending BikeReg.com MABRAcross champion Lisa Vible, Team Kenda Tire�s Jennifer Maxwell, Vanderkitten�s Mandy Lozano and Libbey Sheldon of Tokyo Joe�s. Roaring out of the prologue loop, Shogren and Maxwell had the advantage as they powered up the finishing hill straight to begin the first of their laps. By the time they entered the backside of the course, which is out-of sight from the main spectator area, Shogren had a decisive lead and Haywood, in her first cyclocross race in two years, was charging. And then things got weird.

�We were climbing the short, hard hill in the back,� said Shogren after the race, �and I asked Sue what she thought the sound was that was coming from my bike.� Haywood�s quick assessment was that the sound was coming from Shogren�s cassette -- it wasn�t. Moments later, Shogren�s left crankarm came off, with her foot still attached. Shortly afterwards the rest of her crankset fell off. �It was pretty funny,� said Shogren.

With Shogren running a quarter of the lap (after first retrieving the crankarm!), Haywood powered away and by the time they came back into view, Haywood had a commanding lead with Maxwell, Lozano and Jessica Hill (Trail�s End Cycling) forming the chase group. By the time Shogren ran to the pits, she was nearly half a lap behind. Up front, Haywood continued to grow her lead until the end of the race for a dominating win. Maxwell used a well-thought attack to separate herself from the other chasers and finished second. Eventually, however, the attention shifted back to Shogren.

Riding her single-speed pit bike that was significantly over-geared for the hilly course, Shogren began reeling in the riders in front of her. No stranger to single-speed riding (she finished 11th at this year�s XC mountain bike National Championships on a single speed), Shogren was dubbed the �drama queen� by race announcer Ken Getchell as she methodically passed rider after rider, eventually finishing third just seconds behind Maxwell.

Elite Men�s Race: Goin� for it
With Jeremiah Bishop and Jonne Sundt on the starting line, none of the riders in the Elite men�s field had any illusions about how difficult the race was going to be. But BikeReg.com MABRAcross regular Greg Wittwer (FORT Factory Team) knew that it was going to be even more difficult the others thought because he had already decided that he was going to control the pace. �I haven�t won a race yet this year, and this is the race I wanted to win!� he said afterward. From the start, Wittwer attacked and forced Bishop to respond. Meanwhile, a good portion of the field, including Sundt, was lying in a pile between the barriers following a chain reaction crash. No injuries occurred and not much time was lost, but Sundt lost many positions.

Up front Wittwer matched every one of Bishop�s many accelerations. Riding above his usual level, Wittwer was determined not to let Bishop in front. Meanwhile, Sundt was laying down accelerations of his own as he ripped through the field. Eventually, Bishop did get into the lead, but Wittwer responded. After trading off the lead several times, Bishop was able to gap Wittwer just enough to prevent a counter attack. Once firmly in the lead, Bishop was able to extend the time gap. It appeared that Wittwer was closing in the final laps, but Bishop responded to take his first �cross win of the year.

Sundt eventually caught third place rider Steve Cummings (Indiana Regional Medical Center). Racing in his first �cross race of the year, Sundt said that he was surviving on his road fitness. �I don�t have that top-end yet,� he said. �It�s hard to get that, because it hurts.� Still, fitness and world-class technique help and Sundt was able to separate himself from Cummings for a third place finish.

Race Notes:
� 18 Year old sensation Nick Bax (Hot Tubes) was hounded all race by impressive 17 year-old newcomer Stephen Koebl of Blue Competition Cycles. Koebl was competing in just his second cyclocross race, and his first at the Elite level.
� Gunnar Shogren (FORT Factory Team), won the Elite Masters Category ahead of Randy Root (ABRT/Latitude) and points leader Marc Gwadz (DCMTB/City Bikes)